"Normal conversations"
'Internal dialogues'
"How much longer" Kushina whined.
"We're almost there" Naruto sighed as he repeated the line for the 100th time "Have some patience".
Kushina just puffed her cheeks and looked away.
"So, where did you learn to fight," Kushina asked as she got bored of the silence.
"An old man taught me back in my home town" Naruto replied.
"And where is that?"
"Shells Town".
"Why did you leave?"
"I got bored of the monotonous life and wanted to explore the world" Naruto replied "What about you, Where are you from?".
Before Kushina could answer, he spotted a marine vessel in the distance sailing parallel to them.
"Finally some action!" Naruto exclaimed as he steered his ship in their direction, "Get ready!".
As they neared the Marine ship, he spotted a man dressed in a marine's uniform holding a microphone.
"Is there a problem?" The man asked through the microphone.
"Can't he see that we are pirates?" Kushina asked as Naruto continued to sail in their direction.
"We don't have a Jolly roger to identify ourselves as a pirate" Naruto replied as he pointed at their sails without the design of a jolly roger "They probably think that we are a merchant ship in distress".
Walking atop the figurehead, Kushina screamed "We're pirates!".
Naruto face-palmed as the marine ship now began to prepare to fight them.
"You could've waited till we were closer to announce that" Naruto replied as he prepared for the fight.
"Where's the fun in that!"
Stopping the ship besides the marines, Kushina immediately jumped aboard their ship.
The captain of the ship stepped forward, he was a skinny middle-aged man with whiskers and rat-like ears attached to his marine cap, the rest of his crew stayed behind with their rifles pointed at Naruto and Kushina.
"Bold of you to announce that you're a pirate in front of a marine captain" The man spoke.
"It was getting boring, sitting around the ship with nothing else to do," Kushina answered as she unsheathed her sword "I would usually not attack weak marines like you but the boredom was getting really annoying, don't take it personally, this is just to get the blood flowing".
The man turned red with anger at the insult. "Marines!" he exclaimed loudly "Fire!".
A few seconds later, "You should've left some for me" Naruto whined as he collected all their supplies, weapons and treasures.
"You snooze you lose" Kushina replied as she showed him her tongue.
"What does that even mean! I wasn't sleeping! You defeated them all before I could even board the ship".
"You'll pay for this" the marine captain yelled, he and his men were tied to the mast after their humiliating defeat, "I, Nozomi, will make sure of that!".
Ignoring him, Naruto and Kushina returned to their ship "Who would've thought that a marine ship would have over 100 million berries in it".
"He probably stole it from somewhere" Naruto replied as he steered the ship away from the marine vessel.
"Still" Kushina continued "Our first raid as a crew and we already scored the jackpot. We are definitely off to a great start."
"That we are" Naruto replied "Between your's, mine and the recent score, we have a shit ton of money to spare."
After few minutes of sailing, their destination was finally on view.
"Logue town" Naruto stated as he docked their ship "The town of the beginning and the end. The place where Gold Roger, the pirate king was born and executed".
"It's Gol D Roger" Kushina corrected, "It's a common mistake the people from the East Blue make. His name was Gol D Roger, not Gold Roger".
"Huh?...I never knew that" Naruto replied as they jumped off of their ship.
Spotting Going Merry docked nearby, Naruto stated "So, he's here too".
"Who?" Kushina inquired.
"A friend of mine" Naruto replied "You probably haven't even heard of him. His name is.."
Before he could finish, they walked into a crowded street where a couple of pirates were harassing a girl.
"Our boss is behind bars all thanks to your captain!" the pirated slurred.
"Have you still not learned your lesson?" the girl muttered as she clutched a wrapped object in her hand.
"Nope" the other pirate replied, "We ain't happy with things as they are!".
"Very well, If you don't stop your rude behaviour right now, I will have no choice but to fight you!" the girl replied.
"Fight us!?" the pirate questioned as they laughed "Don't make us laugh!".
"What can a girl like you do to us!" the pirate insulted as they raised their weapons to attack her.
"Die!"
Naruto moved to intervene but Kushina held his hand to stop him "Observe".
With a quick slash from the sword she was carrying, the girl incapacitated both the pirates in one strike.
"Wow!" the crowd cheered "You're strong lady!".
The girl blushed at the praises and began to walk away but suddenly stumbled on the uneven sidewalk and fell face-first to the ground.
Her glasses fell off, stopping near Naruto's feet who picked it up and gave it back to the girl who was waving her hands on the ground in search of them.
"Thank you Mr..." she trailed off, waiting for Naruto to give her his name.
"Yo!" Naruto turned around to face the person who called him "Nice seeing you here".
"You too!" Naruto exclaimed as he clasped hands with Zoro.
"We haven't seen you since you fought him" Zoro stated "He just took off with you before we could do anything".
"Not a problem" Naruto replied "Everything worked out in the end. So, where are the others, What happened after Nami stole your ship and ran off".
"A lot happened since then I'll fill you in later, right now I want to buy some decent swords since my previous ones were destroyed".
"Mine too!" Naruto exclaimed, "I've grown tired of using those cheap swords..."
A sudden cough caused him to look to the side "Oh sorry!" Naruto apologized to the girl.
"It's ok" the girl replied "I couldn't help but overhear the two of you wanting to buys swords. I was on my way to the weapon's shop so I'll be happy to accompany you there".
Zoro froze for a few seconds as he got a good look at the girl's face but then quickly looked away and continued to walk ahead like nothing happened.
"So is he your boyfriend?" the girl inquired as they started walking.
"No!" Naruto and Zoro both yelled at once.
"I was asking the girl"
"No!" she yelled too.
"Then why are you holding hands".
Kushina immediately let go of Naruto's hand and looked away, hiding her face with her hair.
"Well...not yet anyway" Naruto teased as he saw Kushina get even red, her face now matching her hair.
After a few seconds walk, they reached the shop they were looking for.
Walking into the shop, the girl greeted the owner.
"Tashigi, It's nice to see you again. I've finished polishing your Shigure, You can take it on your way out" he stated as he turned his attention to the customers she bought in.
Walking to the counter, Zoro put his money on it, "I've got 100,000 berries, Sell me two swords".
The owner immediately lost interest at Zoro's offer and pointed him at the barrels filled with swords "50,000 a sword will only get you those dull blades".
"I've got you covered" Naruto stated as he too approached the counter "Buy whichever swords you like, you can pay me back later".
Zoro tried to refuse but Naruto convinced him to let him help, reminding him of the 5 million he gave Naruto from Buggy's loot, finally relenting, he thanked Naruto and began searching for the swords he liked.
"Show me your finest sword" Naruto ordered the shopkeeper, whose entire personality changed after he saw that Naruto was loaded enough to let others buy their favourite sword.
"Of course! it'll be my pleasure. We've been in business for 200 years and sell nothing but the finest swords." he replied as he went inside to fetch a sword.
"That sword on your waist! Is it...?" Tashigi exclaimed as she suddenly pulled the sword from Zoro's waist, she took out a handbook and began to rapidly flip through the pages.
"Yes! It is Wado Ichimonji!" she exclaimed as she showed her book to Zoro.
"Wado?!"
Unsheathing the sword, she began to closely study it, "What a beautiful straight temper line!" She continued "I believe it's one of the 21 Great Grade Swords".
"Look at this!" she shoved the book in Zoro's face "It's worth no less than 10 million Berries!".
"21 Great Grade Swords?" Naruto asked.
"There are many blades in this world..." Kushina started "But there are certain ones that were made by world-renowned blacksmiths. The 12 Supreme Grade Swords, the 21 Great Grade Swords, and the 50 Skillful Grade Swords."
"The twenty-one Great Grade Swords are among the highest quality blades in the world, second only to the Twelve Supreme Grade swords. These blades are well known for their incredible power and possessing great balance in terms of strength, sharpness, and durability. In the hands of a capable swordsman, they can even stand up to the Supreme Grade Swords in combat".
Tashigi looked surprised that besides her, someone else too knew so much about swords.
"She is right" Tashigi agreed.
"Of course I am" Kushina replied as she unsheathed her sword "My Blood Red Princess is one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords!" She exclaimed.
Tashigi immediately lost it as she began to drool, gazing at the blade. "The Blood Red Princess, It is said that its blade was originally black but after taking so many lives it was dyed red from the blood of its victims. It's worth no less than 300 million Berries" She recited.
"Can I hold it?" Tashigi asked with a crazy look in her eyes.
"No" Kushina replied, "I don't let anyone even touch it".
"Please..." Tashigi whined but Kushina did but budge.
While Tashigi was busy with Kushina, Zoro quickly took his sword back and selected a sword he wanted and walked near Naruto.
"What's gotten into her?"
"She's gone bat-shit crazy over Kushina's sword".
"Here" the shopkeeper returned as he placed a sword on the counter.
"That sword..." he muttered as he observed Zoro holding a sword with a red sheathe and gave an uneasy expression.
"It's cursed" Zoro stated.
"You knew!" The shopkeeper seemed genuinely surprised.
"No, I could tell when I unsheathed it"
"Sandai Kitestsu" the shopkeeper stated the name of the sword "Its predecessors, the Nidai Kitetsu, is one of the 21 Great Grade Swords and The Shodai Kitetsu is one of the 12 Supreme Grade Swords. The katana you hold is a respectable sword but like all the Kitetsu blades, it is cursed as well. Many famous swordsmen have met tragic deaths after taking up one of the three Kotetsu swords." The shopkeeper informed, "I have done my job of warning you about the risk of wielding such a cursed sword but if you still want to buy it, it'll cost you 1 million Berries"
"1 million!" Zoro exclaimed, "That's a lot of money".
"Don't worry about it" Naruto stated "I told you I've got you covered".
"But, that's..."
"Now, what have you got for me" Naruto interrupted.
The shopkeeper removed the cloth covering the sword he had placed on the counter.
"The make is Black lacquer," He said, showing Naruto the sheathe, removing the sword, he continued "and the blade is black with an uneven temper pattern. This is the famed Kusanagi No Tsurugi(Grass cutting sword)."
Hearing the name, Tashigi again began to salivate at the sword's beauty "The Kusanagi!" she exclaimed as she began to flip through pages of her handbook, "It was originally known as the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven) but was later changed to Kusanagi No Tsurugi after Yamato Takeru, a legendary swordsman, split a blade of grass without the sword even touching the grass. It's also believed to be a gift given by the god Susanoo to his sister Amaterasu after he slayed the eight-headed serpent, Yamata-No-Orochi and rescued the princess Kushinada-hime from him. He found the sword inside the beast and named it Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi."
"You had me at Kushinada-hime" Naruto stated as he winked at Kushina, who again hid her face from embarrassment.
"How much?" Naruto asked as he inspected the sword.
"The sword is considered to be above the 21 Great Grade Swords and a little below the 12 Supreme Grade Sword, it is the most expensive sword I own, it'll cost you 20 million Berries".
"20 million!"
"I don't know" Naruto replied, "20 million is a bit much".
"I'll throw in Yubashiri as well if you decide to purchase it, Yubashiri is one of the 50 Skillful Grade Swords and one of the finest swords I possess. It's been a while since I've seen a good swordsman's eyes and yours's show greatness. So, I'm prepared to lose some money if the sword goes into a deserving hand".
After thinking for a while, Naruto nodded "I'll take it" he handed 5 million to the man "I am only carrying that much money with me right now so you'll have to come to our ship to get the rest".
He then proceeded to take the swords off the counter.
"Only Yubashiri" The shopkeeper ordered "You'll get Kusanagi after I get the rest of my money".
Naruto nodded and attached the sword to his waist.
"Kushina will you please take him to our ship"
"No, I will not" She stated.
"Please..." Naruto pleaded "I'll make you that ramen you love so much".
"10 bowls" Kushina stated. After seeing Naruto nod, she and the shopkeeper exited the shop and began to walk towards their ship.
Naruto also left the shop with Zoro and Tashigi.
"I'll have to get back to the base or I'll miss the training session" Tashigi stated as she watched her watch.
"You're a marine?" Zoro asked in surprise.
"Yes," she replied as she began to run, possibly in the direction of her base.
Naruto and Zoro both stood stunned "We were with a marine this entire time!".
Naruto sighed as began to walk, "Let's go, I want to see the execution platform where The Pirate King was executed".
After a short walk where Naruto had to continuously guide Zoro, they were interrupted by sudden yelling as people began to clear the roads as a man with a cowboy hat and a black cloak walked towards them.
He was interrupted before he could reach them as five men suddenly surrounded him.
"You Bastard!" one of the men yelled "How dare you sell our buddies to the Navy?!"
"You're gonna pay big-time for that!"
The sound of four shots firing was heard as the four men surrounding him suddenly dropped dead, the fifth one fell back in shock at the sudden death of his comrades.
The man bent down and whispered something in the pirate's ears causing him to flee in terror.
"Daddy The Parent" Zoro started "He is a bounty hunter just like I was."
Suddenly a blonde-haired girl came running towards him, "Papa! I got you a present!" she exclaimed as she showed him a pair of sniper goggles, "Happy birthday!".
The man's serious expression immediately melted as he took the goggles from the girl
"Carol! what a nice, angelic girl you are!" he exclaimed as he picked her up and hugged her "I love you, Carol, my daughter!".
Their moment was ruined as Usopp came running towards them "Hey girl! give me back my goggles" he exclaimed.
"Papa! That old man there is trying to swipe your present!" she whispered pointing at Usopp.
His expression immediately changed as he took his eyes off his daughter, With a menacing stare he muttered "Are you the one who's bullying my adorable Carol?"
"Let's go get him before he gets himself killed" Zoro muttered as they began to walk towards Usopp.
Carol whispered something in her father's ears again.
"Oh! you have a bounty of 30 million berries" The man asked as he began to search through the wanted posters for his bounty.
"600,000, 1.3 million, 700,000, 50 million, 65 million" he checked through the wanted posters, "Here we go 30 million, Monkey D Luffy... A starting bounty this big..." he muttered as he saw Usopp prepare to run away.
"Hold it, boy!" he exclaimed.
"Is there a problem here?" Zoro asked as he approached them.
"Pirate Hunter Zoro" Daddy stated, "I heard you joined a pirate crew".
"Yes," Zoro replied "He is from my crew, sorry for the trouble he's caused".
Zoro then began to drag Usopp away "Let's go Usopp before your cause any more trouble".
"Usopp..." the man repeated, "Do you know a man name Yasopp of the Red-Haired Pirates?"
"Yassop? That's my old man's name" Usopp replied "You've met my dad before?!"
"You could say that..." Daddy replied vaguely.
"Anyway, we must get going" Naruto stated and began to push Zoro and Usopp.
"Wait what about my goggles!" Usopp exclaimed.
"He's a bounty hunter" Naruto replied, " and an ex-marine sniper".
"I can always find other goggles" Usopp suddenly changed his tune "It's not like they are the only one's left in the entire world, plus it would be cruel to take someone's birthday present gifted to them by their daughter".
The three of them left quickly before Daddy could stop them again.
"Let's go to the execution stand" Naruto stated, "I've been dying to see that place."
"Let's go!" Usopp exclaimed.
After walking for few minutes Naruto suddenly stopped and looked in the sky "The wind has changed, it's likely to rain soon, we should hurry up before we get caught in it."
"Rain?" Usopp asked as he watched the clear skies "But the weather is so nice".
"There's no doubt about it, Let's go"
On their way they met Nami and Sanji, with Sanji carrying a large fish on his shoulder, Usopp agreed to help him carry it to their ship and went along with them.
Reaching the execution platform, Naruto was surprised to see Luffy trying to scale it.
"What's that idiot doing?" Zoro muttered as he walked near the platform.
"Oi! what the hell are you doing!" Zoro yelled.
Luffy waved at him and replied, "I want to see the view that The Pirate King had when he was executed".
"Get down before the marines spot you" Naruto yelled.
Luffy just smiled as he continued to climb the platform.
"Hey, you over there" A marine shouted pointing at Luffy "Come down right away!"
"Why?!" Luffy yelled back as he reached the top of the platform.
"That's a special execution platform under the control of the World Government, Come down right now else I'll have to arrest you!".
"You don't have to be so strict, officer. I'm just enjoying the view".
"If you don't come down immediately, I'll come up and arrest up immediately".
Before the guard could take another step, a spike iron mace was smashed into his head, knocking him unconscious.
"I've been looking for you, Luffy. Do you remember me..." The woman who smashed the guard unconscious asked.
"Who the hell are you?" Luffy replied as he tried to remember her.
"Don't tell me you forgot my face..." the woman muttered.
"I don't know anyone like you. Who the heck are you?" Luffy replied.
"This is the police!" a couple of men dressed in a police uniform approached her "Hey, woman, come quietly. You're under arrest for attacking the police captain!" pointing at Luffy he continued "And you over there! Get off the execution platform!".
"Buggy Bomb!"
There was a low whistling noise before a cannonball exploded near the fountain they were standing at causing debris to get launched everywhere.
A large part of the debris crashed into the lady but instead of hurting her, it got diverted as soon as it touched her.
"That was dangerous, you know". The woman started to the man walking towards her in a cloak.
"I flashily apologize" Buggy in disguise replied, "But your smooth skin is unharmed, so no need to worry, beautify lady Alvida!".
"Alvida?" Luffy repeated as he began to look around "I don't see an ugly fat woman anywhere".
"I'm Alvida! You blockhead!"
"Really? You don't look like her at all..."
"I changed after eating a devil fruit." Alvida replied, "The name of that devil fruit I ate is Smooth Smooth Fruit!" She exclaimed while removing her cloak to reveal the flawless skin underneath, "No attack can hurt my skin as it'll just slide off of it".
"After eating the fruit and becoming a new person, I joined forces with him since we had the same goal- finding you".
The man in the cloak began to laugh maniacally as he threw his cloak aside and gave a ridiculous pose "The ultimate star has appeared super flashily!".
"Monkey D Luffy! Since the day you and that blonde-haired bastard blew me off, I've been obsessed to have revenge on both of you but I couldn't find that blonde-haired bastard anywhere so after learning that you were going to arrive here, I flasihly assembled my crew after finding my body parts. It was indeed a great adventure I had while searching for them, Laughs, Dangers, Friendship, I experienced it all. It was little Buggy's Great adventures."
"That sounds interesting" Naruto stated "Tell us more."
"Yes sure, I met a... Wait why am I telling my story to you" he suddenly realised, pointing a finger at Naruto he continued "You blonde-haired bastard, I've finally found you! It time to get my revenge!".
"What was your name again!" Luffy asked as he tried hard to remember Buggy's name "Boggy?, NO, Boggie? No, Buhii... that doesn't seem right... Oh yeah! It was Buffoon right!".
"Is he an Idiot?" Naruto whispered to Zoro "Buggy just introduced himself a few seconds ago".
"It can't be helped, he has an attention span of a goldfish".
"Buffoon?! Stop messing around. You sure haven't lost your nerve, you moron!" Buggy yelled as he pointed his pistol at Luffy.
"Red nose? What the hell are you doing here" a voice asked from behind him.
"Who the hell..." Buggy turned furiously only to spot Kushina with an irritated look on her face.
"Kushina-chan!" Buggy exclaimed, his anger long forgotten, "What are you doing here? Is Shanks here too?" By the end, he was furious again.
"No" Kushina replied as she walked forward and came to stand beside Naruto "He is probably on his way to the New World, I joined a pirate crew, that's why I'm here".
"What? Shanks let you join a crew! He didn't even let you stay out of his sight for more than a few seconds and he let you join a pirate crew!."
"Yeah things happened and he let me join"
"Whose crew did you join, I bet it's a pretty famous crew if you decided to join them".
"It's just him" Kushina replied as she pointed her thumb at Naruto, who waved at him.
"Let's go Naruto" She stated "I saw the marines surround this place, it'd be troublesome to deal with them if we get caught".
"Wait you're Naruto?!" Buggy exclaimed.
"Marines attack!"
Suddenly groups of marines surrounded all the pirates and began to attack them.
"Looks like that's our cue" Naruto muttered as he began to run towards his ship.
"Let's go Luffy!" Zoro exclaimed as he began to slash away at everyone in his sight, "Or we'll get caught too"
Jumping down from the platform, Luffy began to make his way towards Zoro, "Nami, Usopp and Sanji? Where are they?" he inquired.
"They are back at the ship, I met them when I was coming here".
As Naruto and Kushina made their way toward's their ship, their path was suddenly blocked by a couple of marines lead by Tashigi and a tall, muscular white-haired man who appeared to be her captain.
"Smoker" Naruto muttered.
"So you are Naruto... The man with the highest starting bounty!" Smoker exclaimed,
"What? I have no bounty on my head. Luffy's the one with the highest starting bounty".
"Actually.." Kushina corrected "You have the highest starting bounty of 65 million Berries, Luffy only has 30 million on his head".
"When did I get a bounty? And why don't I know about it".
"You got a bounty when you arrived with Mihawk to meet my brother, Shanks. Why do you think they were partying so hard for?".
"It's Shanks, I thought he just likes to party all the time".
"You were given a 65 million Berries bounty because you defeated Don Krieg along with the rest of his underlings since he had the highest bounty besides Arlong, who was defeated by Straw hat Luffy and his crew, in the East Blue. We didn't have a photo of your face so only your name was printed on the bounty. It was later discovered that you fought the World's Strongest Swordsmen, Hawkeyes Mihawk, to a standstill and he took you under his wing as an apprentice. But now that we know Shanks's sister is also in your crew, your bounty is going to be increased further, that is if you manage to get past me!" Smoker revealed.
"That information is not true!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Now is not the time to argue" Kushina stated as she looked up to see the weather getting worse "A storm's coming, we need to leave before we get caught in it."
Nodding, Naruto slowly began to unsheathe his new sword, Yubashiri.
"I'll quickly take care of the small fries and get our ship ready" Naruto stated "Take care of Smoker till then".
Naruto dashed forwards and quickly began to deflect and dodge all the bullets fired by the marines with his sword. He made quick work of them in few seconds and was about to rush ahead when he was cut-off by Tashigi.
"You...You lied to me!" She exclaimed.
"I never got a chance to tell you my name, that's all. I never lied to you" Naruto replied.
"A pirate like you can't be allowed to own such renowned swords!" she announced "I'll collect your swords, The legendary Kusanagi no Tsurugi, Yubashiri as well as Zoro's Wado Ichimonji!."
"Try it." Naruto replied as he pointed his sword at her "But if you lose, I'll take your beloved sword, Shigure, with me."
Tashigi faltered a bit after hearing that, "I'll never lose to the like of you!" she exclaimed as she rushed forward.
Within a blink of the eye, Naruto disarmed her and pushed her into the wall and placed his sword at her throat, he whispered "You lose".
Tashigi looked stunned for several seconds as Naruto pulled back his sword and started to walk toward's Tashigi's fallen one.
"Why aren't you finishing me off?!" she yelled in anger "Death would be better than this humiliation. Is it because I'm a woman!?".
"My first mate is a woman and she is quite a bit more skilled than I am. So, you being a woman had no impact on my decision to let you live" Naruto replied as he sheathed her sword and started to walk away with it, "You Navy guys might hang us by our neck after you catch us but us Pirates are free to let you live or die however we please" Naruto replied as be began to run "Hopefully, the next time we meet, you'll be strong enough to take back your sword".
Arriving at his ship Naruto quickly prepared it for departure. He spotted Kushina running towards him in the distance, followed closely by Smoker and a platoon of marines.
"Naruto!" Luffy yelled as he waved his hands to gain his attention.
Looking to his side, Naruto spotted Luffy on his ship, preparing to leave as well.
"Talk later!" he yelled as he pointed a cannon at the incoming marines and fired it.
The explosion Kokuo bought Kushina enough time to jump aboard the ship.
"Let's go!"
They were able to leave Logue town successfully as a sudden wind current carried them further into the seas.
"That was exciting!" Naruto exclaimed as he steered the ship.
"Yes, this is the most fun I've had in years!".
"Look! there's a light blinking in the distance. It's known as the 'guiding light'. Its points towards the entrance of the Grand Line."
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!".